Tag: alternative fuel options

Geothermal energy being tapped in the United States Geothermal energy is experiencing strong growth in the U.S. according to the Geothermal Energy Association. Geothermal energy has been growing in popularity in the U.S. recently as an alternative to fossil-fuels. The country is focused on an “all-of-the-above” energy plan which has it pursuing various renewable fuels. Geothermal power is common in Japan, where the energy is used to heat homes throughout the country. The association has released a new report showing the growth of the geothermal industry in 2011. According to…

Hybrid cars just got sexy BMW is looking to expand its portfolio of alternative energy vehicles and has begun branching off from its interest in hydrogen fuel cells. The automaker is one of the many in the industry that has been focusing on hydrogen recently. Fuel cells have become the primary focus for the industry due to the fact that they can match or exceed the performance of internal combustion engines. BMW believes that hydrogen will not be the only thing powering future vehicles and claims that gasoline will still…

San Francisco, California, has claimed the title as “Cleantech Capital” of North America this week. The title is awarded by the Cleantech Group, a market intelligence firm focused on alternative energy and sustainability. San Francisco was chosen because of its exemplary commitment to alternative energies like solar, hydrogen and wind power. Cleantech noted that the city is also quite attractive to renewable energy groups looking to expand and attract investors. The Cleantech Group notes that San Francisco is home to more than 200 alternative energy companies and investment groups. These…

The Munich Reinsurance Company, a reinsurance and ratings firm serving the global insurance industry, has released a new report concerning the economic losses of natural disasters in 2011. The report notes that last year saw more than 820 natural disasters, many of which were man-made. These catastrophes resulted in 27,000 deaths and more than $380 billion in losses around the world. In terms of casualties, 2011 was more lenient than 2010, but was much more damaging to the global economy. The report notes that one of the worst disasters of…

Alternative energy is becoming a popular subject as more people grow conscious of their impact on the environment. As such, more attention is being drawn to various types of energy systems that have, until recently, been ignored by the community at large. One of these energy systems is direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). These variants of the hydrogen fuel cell were first developed by the Caltech/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory with the help of the University of California in 1990. Unlike their hydrogen counterparts, these fuel cells are well suited for…

Bill Gates is well known around the world as the founder of Microsoft, the technology company of gargantuan influence. In recent years, Gates has been playing a larger role in the world of philanthropy, using his position as one of the world’s wealthiest men to help developing countries liberate themselves from poverty. Gates has long been a proponent of ending poverty and has been focusing his efforts on helping impoverished countries through the use of alternative energy. Speaking at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics forum this week, Gates expressed the…

Last week, the Obama administration launched a new program it is calling the Green Button Initiative. Simply put, the Initiative is a website featuring a large green button. Clicking on the button allows U.S. residents to submit their energy consumption data, which will be converted into an easy to understand format. This data is meant to help people understand how they use energy and suggest ways to help them be more efficient about their consumption. The Green Button Initiative aims to provide consumers with access to their energy data on…

The auto industry is undergoing a bit of a technological revolution these days. Automakers are adopting new technologies to power their vehicles, such as hydrogen fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries. While this may be a welcome change for environmentalists, many drivers are not very keen on the shift in technology. Drivers have long been capable of fixing any problem they may have with their cars themselves, if motivated enough to do so. Such do-it-yourself fixes are popular, allowing drivers to sidestep costly trips to mechanics. New technology, however, is not…

A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a branch of the Department of Energy, shows that imports of crude oil have fallen since 2005. Several factors have contributed to the drop in imports over the years, including political tension with the Middle East and a new focus on alternative energy and efficiency. The report indicates that in 2011, oil imports hit the lowest point they have been since 1999. According to the report, oil imports have dropped by 12% since 2005. In recent years – 2009 and…

Alternative energy is on the rise in New Zealand, according to Industrial Info, a market intelligence firm specializing in renewable fuel. The firm has been tracking the progress of alternative energy projects in the country for some time and notes that the country could be on the verge of becoming one of the world’s alternative energy powerhouses. New Zealand has been home to very ambitious sustainability projects, including wind and solar farms as well as hydrogen power installations. This year, the country will see several new energy projects taking root,…

Algae are getting more attention from the world of science for its possible uses as a source of alternative energy. These simple organisms are very easy to manage and have shown strong resilience to a variety of environments that would be somewhat hostile to other life forms. As such, Algae have become a popular subject for use as a form of organic power. OriginOil, a company that converts algae into fuel, is looking to show off the uses for the organism in a new pilot project that will be launched…

New York City’s Staten Island is known for a great many things. Often called the “Forgotten Borough,” Staten Island is home to some of New York City’s largest marathons as well as one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions, the Staten Island Ferry. Unfortunately, the Island is also known for its expansive garbage dump. The landfill houses a significant amount of the waste produced by New York City. The landfill was closed in early 2011 after having serviced more than two billion tons of garbage. Now, the dump could…

Alternative energy is getting more attention from the U.S. government now than it ever has in the past. While some believe that this newfound interest in sustainable energy is spurred by belief in climate change, the reality of the matter may be that the country is looking to protect itself in the event of military conflict in the Middle East. Tensions between Iran and Israel are mounting and while neither side has openly attacked the other, threats abound. The U.S. is also in the throes of potential conflict with Iran…

Interstate 5, the main highway that connects the West Coast states of the U.S., has become home to 8 new electric charging stations and is the latest addition to the West Coast Electric Highway, an ambitious initiative to establish an alternative energy infrastructure in western states. The stations begin at California’s northern border and extend to the far north of Oregon. Each station is capable of providing energy to electric cars and fills a gap in the current infrastructure to support these vehicles. Each station is equipped with fast-charging technology.…

Technology may not be enough to break the world’s dependence on fossil-fuels, according to University of Oregon sociologist Richard York. For decades, the consensus as to why fossil-fuels are necessary has largely been focused on the lack of alternatives and the technology to make these alternatives viable. Now that technology has reached the point where such alternatives as solar, wind, and hydrogen are viable, progress toward breaking away from fossil-fuels is expected to accelerate. In a new report, York posits that this is not the case. York argues that the…

According to a recent Ernst & Young LLP survey, though there are two important green benefits for companies who make efforts for sustainability – environmental friendliness, and financial savings – many are not able to take advantage of those opportunities due to a lack of integration between sustainability programs and tax departments. In fact, only 16 percent of the survey respondents that stated that they either currently have or are already working on the creation of an environmental sustainability strategy, also claimed that their finance or tax departments played an…